Part 1: It Has Been 10 Years Since Natalee Holloway Went Missing, No Body … No Crime … And No One Tried, But We Know Damn Well Who Is Responsible, Don’t We Joran Van der Sloot?

ITS HARD TO BELIEVE IT HAS BEEN 10 YEARS …

May 30, 2005 … Alabama teen Natalee Holloway has gone missing in Aruba while on a class trip with her fellow Mountain Brook classmates to celebrate their graduation from high school, to begin their college careers and the rest of their lives. Or so they all thought. All of these young teens with their whole lives ahead of them, just celebrating one more time together before they went their separate ways in what was supposed to be a safe vacation surrounded by sand, sun and the sea. Like so many classes before them, a visit to Aruba was supposed to be the one last high school fling. Sadly, for Natalee Holloway it would be the one last thing she ever did in life, never to attend college, never to have the rest of her life. Enter Joran Van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe and everyone’s lives would be changed forever and not for the better.

Natalee Holloway and friends in Aruba 2005

The first post Scared Monkeys ever wrote on this missing persons case was entitled, ‘This Can’t Be Good For Tourism, Where’s Natalee Holloway’. At first glance, one night think it was rather crass and insensitive. But having visited Aruba since the 1970′s, having friends on the small Caribbean Island, even having dated a beautiful Aruba girl in my teens, and having lived and worked on Aruba, I pretty much knew what the prime concern would be for “One Happy Island” and that was to save its tourism industry at all cost. Even if it meant trying to push the dirt under the rug and hide things in the closet. The cover-up, collusion, corruption and cronyism would only be made worse in the case of missing Natalee Holloway when the individual last seen with the beautiful blond Alabama teen was Joran Van der Sloot, a boy of Dutch privilege who’s father was a judge in waiting with so many connections legally, politically and with law enforcement that all signs pointed toward the Holloway, Twitty and Reynold’s family being given the run around from the very beginning. I say this prior to ever having researched the case in depth or having talked to or met any of the family members. From experience, I knew the family was in for a hell of a time from past experiences on Aruba where the most simple of things are made into some of the most exasperating efforts in futility. I knew that Dave Holloway and Beth Twitty were in for a hell of a roller-coaster experience.

No one will ever convince me otherwise that the disappearance of Natalee Holloway and the subsequent search and investigation in Aruba was obstructed on two levels, one from the Van der Sloot family and Paulus Van der Sloot with his connections to prevent his son from going to prison and two, on a police, prosecution and government level to attempt to sweep this under the sand and save their economy that depended upon American tourism.

18 year old Natalee Holloway went missing on Aruba and was last seen leaving an Aruba bar, Carlos N’ Charlies, with three boys, Joran Van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe. The news of Natalee’s disappearance was not made public to the adults in attendance with the teens until the following day when it was time to head off for the airport to leave. Natalee was missing. From the outset, something was very wrong in how this case was being investigated. The Aruba police had the mindset that Natalee was just off having fun and she would return because this happens all the time. REALLY? That might have been some what okay reasoning for Aruba LE had any one of the three people Natalee was last with were missing too. However, they were not, they were already lying. What changed this case, brought it to the forefront and escalated it to new heights that we have never seen before in a missing persons case was that Aruba and the powers that be never imagines that the Holloway/Twitty family would have arrived so quickly on Aruba and hit the ground running trying to find Natalee. The Holloway/Twitty crew were doing the police and detective work that the Aruba LE should have already had done. Like I said, from the outset something smelled to the high heavens, and it was not just inept and incompetent police work, some was so bad it was obvious it had to be intentional.

Carlos N’ Charlies 2005

The lies begin from the three amigos, Joran, Deepak and Satish … From the beginning of dealing with the three individuals who were last seen with Natalee, the lies were flowing. They stated that they dropped her off at her hotel, the Holiday Inn after having left Carlos n’ Charlies. How can the last three people ever to see Natalee not be considered suspects? especially when video surveillance tape showed that the three had never done any such thing. Wouldn’t that or shouldn’t that have been the first thing that Aruba LE should have checked? Instead, the family had to do the investigative work.

Holloway was last seen by friends getting into a vehicle and leaving the Carlos and Charlie’s nightclub in the capital of Oranjestad  before dawn Monday.

Police questioned and released three Aruban men who said they dropped Holloway off early Monday at the Holiday Inn, where she had been staying about 3 miles from the capital of Oranjestad, said police assistant inspector Jules Sambo. The three were not suspects, he said.

MORE LIES … BLAME IT ON THE BLACK GUYS.

On June 5th, 2005 two black men were arrested in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Why, because they were black. How racist is that? The former security guards, Mickey John, 30, and Abraham Jones, worked for the vacant Allegro hotel, two blocks from the Holiday Inn where Holloway stayed. How does anyone arrest two black men for a crime when the last people seen with a missing person walk free? Thus, we see from the outset the mindset in Aruba to blame this on anyone, two hapless black men, just because Aruba can. And they might have gotten away with it had Beth Holloway not come to their rescue and state, they were innocent.

The 2005 Arrest of Mickey John

A judge ruled Wednesday there was sufficient cause to keep holding two former hotel security guards in connection with the disappearance of an Alabama high school honors student.

The decision means authorities may hold Nick John, 30, and Abraham Jones, 28, for nearly four months while prosecutors investigate possible murder and kidnapping charges in the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, defense attorneys said. Neither man has been formally charged.

The two men were arrested Sunday on suspicion of first- and second-degree murder and capital kidnapping, the latter of which is invoked when a kidnapping victim is killed, according to court-appointed defense attorneys Noraina Pietersz and Chris Lejuez.

Later in the case, I had the opportunity to meet Mickey John in the States through the aid of FOM and talk to him as to what happened, his involvement, if any, and his opinions on the case. After talking to him for 5 minutes it became obvious he had nothing to do with Natalee’s disappearance and what just an easy patsy to blame it on. Was Micky John a choir boy, of course not, but he was hardly a murderer. John told me that he would never make any type of statement, especially in Aruba fro fear he would be arrested again for no reason. What had always bothered me to this day was how did the Aruba LE, prosecution and judiciary allow the last three people ever to be seen with Natalee Holloway go from persons of interest and prime suspects to witnesses? From 6/8/05, Attorney general spokeswoman Vivian Van Der Biezan also told a news conference that three “persons of interest” who were questioned and released last week were considered “witnesses,” not suspects. HUH? They dropped the dime on Micky John and Abraham Jones and the Aruba legal brain-trust fell for it hook, line and sinker. Of course the fact that Joran Van der Sloot’s father, Paulus, was a lawyer and a judge in waiting with his many connections had nothing to do with this attempted cover up and frame job. It would not be until June 13, 2005 that Abraham Jones and Mickey John was released from jail.

Abraham Jones Released!

This announcement was telling on two fronts, one, justice finally prevailed in that these two black security guards were finally let out of jail as they had no involvement in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway and the other would be something that would become a common occurrence through out the investigation in Aruba. The second interest fact was that Scared Monkeys broke the news of the release of the two security guards before the AP. Needless to say that prompted many news outlets to contact us and ask how that was possible. This became one of the events in the case that prompted the news outlets to track SM, not the other way around. That’s what happens when you have people on the ground and know others with connections that supplied info and data on a case that was so fluid.

On June 6th, volunteers in Aruba searched for missing Natalee Holloway. About 700 volunteers joined police, soldiers and FBI agents on Monday, combing scrubland and beaches on Aruba’s southeastern tip in an unprecedented search for an Alabama teenager who vanished a week ago on a trip to the Dutch Caribbean island. The Aruba government gave their civil servant employees the day off to help search for Natalee. However, only about 18% of government employees showed to search on what was the biggest story to hit Aruba since their independence from Holland. Also, who did not search … Joran Van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe or Satish Kalpoe.

It would not be until June 8, 2005 that the three boys, Joran Van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe would be arrested by Aruba authorities in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. However, Natalee went missing on May 30, all this time for these three to get their stories synched together and to be coached by Joran’s father, Paulus Van der Sloot. Eight days go by and the individuals who were last seen with a missing person were allowed to sanitize, erase, get rid of and clean up all loose ends with the help of their master white-washer, Paulus.

Aruban police arrested three more suspects in the case of the missing American honors student Thursday, the attorney general said.

Attorney General Caren Janssen said police arrested three men that police had previously questioned and released in the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway.

Authorities have described the three as students – two Surinamese and a native of the Netherlands – who told police they dropped off Holloway at her hotel around 2 a.m. on May 30. Hotel employees, however, say that security cameras did not record her return.

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert Indicted On Federal Charges of Tax Evasion & Lying to the FBI

Former GOP Speaker of the House indicted  …

Former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) was indicted on federal charges of tax evasion and lying to the FBI. As reported at the WAPO, in 2010, Hastert agreed to give an unnamed person $3.5 million “to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against Individual A.”  The “prior misconduct” occurred before Hastert entered politics in 1981 as he was elected to the Illinois state House in the election of 1980. It would appear that Hastert was paying $3.5 million in  hush money to an individual and got busted.

Read the Indictment HERE.

The Justice Department has indicted former House Speaker Dennis Hastert on reporting evasion charges and lying to the FBI as part of an effort to conceal paying off the victim of “prior bad acts.

In an indictment handed down in the District Court of Northern Illinois, the Department of Justice and IRS charged Hastert, 73, with illegally transferring funds in an effort to avoid detection by the IRS, a scheme known as “structuring.”

In the indictment, Hastert is accused of agreeing to pay one individual $3.5 million.

Although the indictment does not specify the “bad acts,” sources said they could be from before Hastert, who is now a lobbyist in Washington, entered politics in 1980. The indictment does, however, claim that Hastert agreed to make the payments “[d]uring … 2010 meetings and subsequent discussions.” In at least one of those meetings, according to the indictment, Hastert and the individual “discussed past misconduct by [Hastert against the individual] that had occurred years earlier.”

UPDATE I: A federal magistrate set preliminary bail at $4,500 for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The bail amount, included in court documents made public Friday, will allow Mr. Hastert to stay out of custody until he is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment. An arraignment hasn’t yet been scheduled, but will probably take place in the coming days.

Mr. Hastert hasn’t appeared in public or commented on the charges. The case was assigned to U.S. Judge Thomas Durkin.

UPDATE II: So what is the law that Denis Hastert broke?

* The law Hastert allegedly broke dictates that any cash withdrawal over $10,000 be accompanied by a Currency Transaction Report filed by the bank to the federal government. “The federal law requiring these reports was passed to safeguard the financial industry from threats posed by money laundering and other financial crime,” according to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN). “To comply with this law, financial institutions must obtain personal identification information about the individual conducting the transaction such as a Social Security number as well as a driver’s license or other government issued document. This requirement applies whether the individual conducting the transaction has an account relationship with the institution or not.” These regulations grew out of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which is formally known as the “Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970.”

* The federal investigation into Hastert’s withdrawal practice began in 2013 due to concerns that Hastert was “structuring” withdrawals to avoid the reporting requirements. Structuring, which is also called “smurfing,” is a purposeful attempt to break up large cash withdrawals to keep them from drawing scrutiny. It’s a common practice in money laundering and gambling. Between June 2010 and April 2012, Hastert took $50,000 out of his bank accounts on 15 different occasions.  When questioned about those practices by bank officials, Hastert began taking out less than $10,000 at a time to avoid detection, a classic case of structuring or smurfing, if true.

* When confronted about his withdrawals by federal officials in late 2014, Hastert allegedly lied — insisting that he was keeping the cash for himself. Hastert said that he “did not feel safe with the banking system,” adding: “Yeah … I kept the cash. That’s what I’m doing.” Lying to federal officials is, obviously, a crime.

UPDATE III: Hastert resigns lobbying position after indictment.

Former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has resigned from his position as a lobbyist at law and lobby firm Dickstein Shapiro following a federal indictment released Thursday, according to a firm spokesman.

“Dennis Hastert has resigned from the firm. Scott Thomas will continue to lead the Public Policy & Political Law Practice,” a firm spokesman said in an email to The Hill.

UPDATE IV: Hastert also resigned from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange board.

Hastert’s biography was removed from the firm’s website Thursday. In a statement issued late Thursday, a Dickstein Shapiro spokesman said only that “Dennis Hastert has resigned from the firm.” Hastert also resigned Thursday from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange board, according to reports.

Oologah, OK Police Officer Shot in Head During Police Pursuit (Update: Police Arrest Cesar Rios & Roxanne Mendoza)

DO POLICE LIVES MATTER?

A Oologah police officer was shot in the head during a police pursuit that went through Nowata, headed towards Coffeyville, Kansas Thursday evening. The incident took place on Highway 169 and County Road 3420 in Nowata County. The officer was transported by Lifeflight to a hospital.

The Oologah police officer has been identified as officer Charles Neill, a U.S. Navy veteran who’s been with the department for a year.

Fox23 Twitter

Highway 169 is shut down in Nowata County.  Newson6 is reporting an officer-involved shooting just north of Nowata.  Sources are reporting a police pursuit that went through Nowata, headed towards Coffeyville, Kansas Thursday evening.The officer was reportedly shot in the head and rolled the vehicle.  The officer is reported to be awake and being transported by Lifeflight to a hospital.  As of 9:45 P.M., Highway 169 is closed in both directions north of Nowata

Newson6 reports that two of the three suspects were caught near Coffeyville.  Officers are reportedly chasing the third suspect through a wooded area.  An unconfirmed text from a listener said the the officer may be from Oologah.

A Bartlesville Radio listener is reporting that they are seeing police cars from several jurisdictions.

UPDATE I: Suspects Cesar Rios & Roxanne Mendoza Arrested.

Deputies arrested two people who were in Garcia’s car throughout the chase.  Cesar Rios, 23, and Roxanne Mendoza, 20, fled into nearby woods, separating from Garcia after the chase ended.  Rios and Mendoza were soon taken into custody in Independence, Kan.

UPDATE II: Deputies arrested 30-year-old Alejandro Garcia near Liberty, Kansas Friday morning.

Deputies arrested 30-year-old Alejandro Garcia near Liberty, Kansas Friday morning. Authorities say Garcia carjacked an elderly man and shot him. That victim is expected to recovery from his injuries.

Garcia is being held in the Montgomery County jail.

UPDATE III: Three Suspects Now in Custody in Connection to Okla., KS Manhunt.

Deputies say 30-year-old Alejandro Garcia, 23-year-old Cesar Rios and 20-year-old Roxanne Mendoza are involved in a police chase and the shooting that hospitalized an Oologah police officer.

The officer is in stable condition after wrecking his vehicle on highway 169.

Rios and Mendoza were captured near Coffeyville last night, but Garcia escaped into the woods near Liberty, KS. After an overnight standoff, Kansas authorities captured Garcia around 7 a.m. on Friday.

Police Officer Shot and Killed in Rio Rancho, New Mexico

DO POLICE  LIVES MATTER?

A police officer has been shot and killed Monday night in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Although the name of the deceased has not yet been released, it is reported that he was a four-year veteran of the force and also served in the Air Force.

Police in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, are searching for a man who shot and killed an on-duty officer Monday night.

Chief Michael Geier said the man fled the scene in a Dodge pickup. Authorities are questioning a person in connection with incident.

Elijah Ortiz y Pino heard four gunshots and then came around a corner to see someone giving CPR to an officer.

Police hunt man who killed New Mexico officer.

Police in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, are searching for a man who shot and killed an on-duty officer Monday night.

Chief Michael Geier said the man fled the scene in a Dodge pickup. Authorities are questioning a person in connection with incident.

Elijah Ortiz y Pino heard four gunshots and then came around a corner to see someone giving CPR to an officer.

Tragically, a total of 46 officers have died in the line of duty in 2015. The police officer shooting death in New Mexico comes on the foot-heals of the shooting death of a New Orleans area officer was shot and killed on Sunday as he sat in his car

Daily Commentary – Tuesday, May 26, 2015 – New Orleans Police Officer Shot Dead While Parked In Police Cruiser (Update: Officer ID’d as (HANO) Police Officer James Bennett, Jr.)

• The hunt is on for the suspect who shot and killed a New Orleans Housing Authority Officer while on duty 05/24/15

UPDATE I: The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office identified the victim Monday as 45 year old James Bennett, Jr. Rest in Peace.

The shooting was reported at 7 a.m. Sunday, the New Orleans Police Department said in a news release. The victim’s car rolled forward and struck a curb after the shooting.

“The death of this HANO police officer is an unspeakable tragedy, and a vile and cowardly act,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a statement following the officer’s death. “Tragedies that involve our men and women in uniform affect our entire city and touch every member of our law enforcement community. We are deeply saddened by this loss, and our hearts and prayers are with the officer’s friends and family and with the entire HANO family during this very difficult time.”